Grace By-Laws
BYLAWS OF GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH CANTON, MISSISSIPPI
ARTICLE I
TITLE
The corporate title of this parish is “Grace Episcopal Church, Canton, Mississippi (hereinafter “this Parish” or “the Parish”), and is the successor in title to: “Grace Church,” and/or “Grace Church Parish,” etc., and/or “the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry of Grace Church,” etc., and/or any other variant renderings of the name of the same corporate entity, as located in Canton, Mississippi.
ARTICLE II
AUTHORITY
This Parish acknowledges the authority of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (hereinafter “the Episcopal Church”) and the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Mississippi (hereinafter “the Diocese”).
ARTICLE III
VESTRY
SECTION 1.
(A) The Vestry of this Parish shall consist of the Rector or Priest-in-Charge and six (6) elected members, including a Senior Warden and one or more Junior Wardens.
(B) The Vestry shall transact all temporal business of the Parish in accordance with, and under the authority of, the Diocese. The Rector or Priest-in-Charge shall preside at Vestry proceedings, but shall have no vote, unless the Vestry be equally divided. In the absence of the Rector or Priest-in-Charge, the Senior Warden shall preside at Vestry proceedings, but shall have no additional vote in the event the Vestry be equally divided.
(C) The wardens and other elected members shall be confirmed, active communicants, at least twenty-one (21) years of age, and actually residing in the Parish and entitled to vote at the Annual Parish Meeting in which they are elected
(see Article VI for Parish Meetings). The term “actually residing in the Parish,” as used herein, is intended to comport with the Canons of the Episcopal Church, i.e., “The term [Parish] is used without any specific definition other than a ‘Congregation of this Church.’” Thus, it is the intent of this Parish that the term “actually residing in the Parish” is not a geographic term, but rather one which requires that this Parish be the confirmed, active communicant’s spiritual home; and not to be determined by physical address.
SECTION 2. The Wardens shall be selected as follows:
(A) The Senior Warden shall be appointed, from elected members of the Vestry, by the Rector or Priest-in-Charge. If the cure is vacant at the time of the Annual Parish Meeting, the Senior Warden shall be elected, from members of the Vestry, by a majority of those present and entitled to vote at the said meeting.
(B) The Junior Warden(s) shall be elected from, and by a majority of, the Vestry members present and voting.
(C) The Wardens shall serve as such for a term of one (1) year; however, at the expiration thereof, may be re-appointed or re-elected for a succeeding term.
SECTION 3.
(A) Until the Annual Parish Meeting for the year 2026, there shall continue to be at least nine (9) members of the Vestry, including the Senior and Junior Wardens. From and after the Annual Parish Meeting for the year 2026, there shall be at least six (6) members of the Vestry, including the Senior and Junior Wardens. Each member shall serve for a term of three (3) years; and the terms of office of the Vestry shall be rotated so that three (3) members shall complete their term of office each year; provided, however, members elected at the Annual Parish Meeting for the year 2027, and thereafter, shall serve for a term of two (2) years.
(B) Elections for Vestry members shall be by a plurality of those present and entitled to vote at the Annual Parish Meeting; unless another method is adopted, by a majority of those present and entitled to vote, at said meeting.
(C) In the event of a vacancy in the office of any Vestry member, the Vestry may, in its discretion, elect a qualified person to fill the unexpired term of the vacating member. In such event, the same consent, as required by Section 4(B) of this Article, must be given, and the said election shall be by a majority of those present.
(D) No Vestry member shall serve successive terms of office. Upon completion of a full term, no member shall be eligible for re-election for a period of one (1) year. However, any member who serves less than one (1) year, in filling the vacancy of
an unexpired term, may stand for election to any Vestry position which may be open thereafter.
(E) The election of the three (3) members of the Vestry, by those attending and entitled to vote at the Annual Parish Meeting, shall be by secret ballot, unless there be an equal number of nominees for vacancies occurring, in which event election may be by unanimous consent or acclamation. However, there shall be no such election at the Annual Parish Meeting for the year 2026.
SECTION 4. Nominations for the Vestry
(A) Nominations for Vestry members to be elected shall be made from the floor. However, in the month prior to the election, nominees, whose consent, as set forth below in subsection (B), has been given to their nominator, may be submitted to the Senior Warden; and, in such event, the Senior Warden, or a Vestry member so designated, shall place those names received in nomination from the floor.
(B) In all cases, a nominee to the Vestry must consent to his/her nomination, and assent to the guidelines set forth in Sections 5 and 6 of this Article. This consent shall be given, either in person or by written statement, at the meeting in which he/she stands for election, whether at an Annual Parish Meeting or Vestry meeting to fill an unexpired term under the provisions of Section 3 (D) of this Article.
SECTION 5. Duties of the Vestry, as a body.
(A) The Vestry shall transact all temporal business of the Parish.
(B) The Vestry shall perform all duties, and assume all responsibilities, imposed upon their office by the Constitutions, Canons, and accepted custom and usage of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese, including, but not limited to, the following specific duties:
(1) Serve as agents and legal representatives of the Parish in all matters concerning its corporate properties, and the relations of the Parish to its clergy;
(2) Ensure that standard business methods are observed;
(3) When the Parish is without a Rector or Priest-in-Charge, to ensure continuation of worship, including the calling of such clergy; and
(4) Nomination of persons for holy orders.
(C) It shall be the duties of the Wardens, in conjunction with the Rector or Priest-in-Charge, if there is one, to review, with new Vestry members, the duties and
responsibilities of the Vestry, as set forth in the aforesaid Constitutions, Canons, custom, and usage.
SECTION 6. Duties of individual Vestry members:
(A) Attend every meeting of the Vestry, except in cases of illness or other urgent reason, as excused by the Vestry;
(B) Attend faithfully the services of worship of the Parish;
(C) Pledge, and give proportionately and sacrificially, of time, talents, and money, for the ministry of Jesus Christ through his Church;
(D) Support, with prayer, participation, and presence, the functions and ministries of the Parish; and
(E) Be willing to assume leadership and responsibility for such committees, sub-committees, task forces, etc., as assigned by the Vestry.
SECTION 7. Resignations of Vestry members. Any Vestry member may resign his/her office by written statement given to the Senior Warden, Rector, or Priest-in-Charge.
SECTION 8. Removal.
(A) Any Vestry member missing three (3) consecutive meetings, or cumulatively missing four (4) meetings within a calendar year, shall be removed from office, unless such member petitions for an extension or exception, and a majority of the remaining Vestry members concur.
(B) It shall be the duty of the Wardens and Rector (or Priest-in-Charge) to communicate with any Vestry member whose status is imperiled by absence or dereliction of duty.
ARTICLE IV
RECTOR/PRIEST-IN-CHARGE
The Rector or Priest-in-Charge shall perform all duties and responsibilities imposed upon his/her office by the Constitutions and Canons of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese.
ARTICLE V.
CLERK AND TREASURER
SECTION 1. A Parish Clerk and a Parish Treasurer shall be elected by a majority of the Vestry members, to serve for such period as may be fixed by the Vestry. The Vestry may also, in its discretion, elect assistants to the Clerk and Treasurer. The Clerk, Treasurer, and any of their assistants, if any, may, but need not, be Vestry members. If not a Vestry
member, he/she may participate in discussions at Vestry meetings, but may not vote on Vestry matters.
SECTION 2. The Clerk, Treasurer, and their assistants, if any, shall perform all duties, and assume all responsibilities, imposed upon their respective offices by the Constitutions and Canons of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese.
ARTICLE VI
PARISH MEETINGS
SECTION 1. Parish meetings shall be held, at such call and agenda, as set forth in applicable Canons of the Diocese.
SECTION 2. There shall be one meeting, designated as the “Annual Parish Meeting,” at which the reports of the Parish officers shall be read; and, with the exception of the Annual Parish Meeting for the year 2026, Vestry members elected.
SECTION 3. In all Parish meetings, those qualified to vote shall be persons present who are sixteen (16) years of age or older, canonically enrolled lay communicants of the Parish, and have regularly contributed to the support of the Parish.
ARTICLE VII
ORGANIZATIONS
SECTION 1. No organization shall be created within, or associated with, the Parish without approval of the Vestry and the Rector or Priest-in-Charge. In the event the cure is vacant, approval by the Vestry and the Bishop shall be required.
SECTION 2. All organizations within the Parish shall submit to the Annual Parish Meeting both a financial report and a report of their work during the previous year. A yearly financial report of each organization shall be provided to the Treasurer of the Parish on or before the eighth (8th) day of January of the following year.
ARTICLE VIII
AMENDMENTS
SECTION 1. Whenever it is deemed necessary to change, alter, or amend these Bylaws, the proposed changes, alterations, or amendments shall first be submitted to the Vestry, for its review and approval.
SECTION 2. If the Vestry approves, by majority vote, the change(s), alteration(s), or amendment(s), copies of such shall then be mailed or given to each qualified voter of the
Parish, at least seven (7) days prior to the Parish meeting at which the matter is to be considered and on which the matter is to be voted, together with written notice of the meeting so called.
SECTION 3. If said change(s), alteration(s), or amendment(s) are approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the qualified voters present at such meeting, it/they shall then become a part of this Parish’s Bylaws, in full force and effect, from and after that date.
ARTICLE IX
CONFORMITY AND REPEAL
SECTION 1. In all matters, including any not herein specifically provided for, the Constitutions and Canons of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese shall control.
SECTION 2. If any provision herein is deemed in conflict with any provision of the aforesaid Constitutions or Canons, such Parish Bylaw provision(s) shall be null and void.
SECTION 3. Upon adoption and approval of any amendment(s), as provided in Article VIII, Section 3, above, any and all previous Bylaw(s) of the Parish in conflict therewith shall be deemed as automatically repealed, null, and void. However, such repeal shall not abrogate or affect acts taken prior to such adoption and approval.
Approved and adopted by the Vestry, this the 17th day of August, 2025.
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SENIOR WARDEN RECTOR
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CLERK
PRESENTED, CONSIDERED, AND APPROVED, at duly called and noticed Parish Meeting, held on the 7th day of September, 2025.
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